Dewhurst calls on Obama to reimburse state for jailing undocumented immigrants

AUSTIN — A week after he called for President Barack Obama’s impeachment, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst sent the president a letter Tuesday demanding the federal government pick up the tab for the approximate $156.6 million that county jails have spent during the past two years to house undocumented immigrants.

Dewhurst expressed his “disappointment” over the Obama administration’s perceived failure to secure the U.S.-Mexico border and called housing more than 130,000 undocumented immigrants since October 2011 an “unnecessary burden” on jails.

“I sincerely hope you will honor your commitments and reimburse Texans for continuing to shoulder one of Washington’s most critical responsibilities,” Dewhurst said. “The dollars expended in this fashion would be better spent enhancing law enforcement efforts to better protect our citizens.”

The state’s 245 county jails are required to report how much they spend detaining undocumented immigrants under a law passed by the Texas Legislature in 2011. The numbers were first reported by The Texas Tribune.

The Bexar County Jail spent nearly $6.9 million during the past two years detaining 7,620 immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally, according to the State Commission on Jail Standards, ranking fourth in the state for money spent and number of undocumented inmates.

Harris County tops the list, spending more than $49 million to house 30,306 inmates during the past two years.